Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez speaks at a meeting of the parliament in Madrid on November 16, 2023. (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
The "Pact for the Future", adopted by world leaders at the Summit of the Future on September 22, 2024 in New York, outlines a shared vision and directions for cooperation across key areas to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reinforce the multilateral system, and enhance the role and effectiveness of the UN.
The 12th plenary meeting of the 13th Party Central Committee convened from July 18-19 in Hanoi. Party General Secretary To Lam presided over and delivered important speeches at the opening and closing sessions of the plenum.
The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee convened a meeting on July 19 to decide on relieving Do Duc Duy, member of the Lao Cai province’s NA delegation, from his position as NA deputy.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on July 19 presided over a ceremony to hand over a decision to assign Tran Duc Thang,member of the Party Central Committee and Standing Deputy Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate, to take up duties at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, serving as Acting Minister.
With revolutionary spirit and determination for continued renewal, the Party Central Committee decided to integrate the contents of three documents, including the political report, the socio-economic report, and the report on Party building, into a single consistent, unified, and synchronous political report to submit to the 14th National Party Congress.
Party General Secretary To Lam asked the entire Party, people, and armed forces to remain steadfast in their faith, fuelled by the aspiration for development and the determination to drive forward comprehensive reform towards building a peaceful, developed, powerful, prosperous, and happy Vietnam.
The Politburo has agreed on the policy of investing in building primary-secondary boarding schools in 248 land border communes across the country, according to its freshly announced conclusion.
The 13th Party Central Committee convened its 12th plenum in Hanoi on July 18, with Party General Secretary To Lam delivering the opening speech and Politburo member and State President Luong Cuong, on behalf of the Politburo, chairing the meeting.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed a decision assigning Tran Duc Thang, a member of the Party Central Committee and Standing Deputy Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate, as acting Minister of Agriculture and Environment.
Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang said he hopes National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man's upcoming trip will achieve substantive results, especially in trade, investment, agriculture, sustainable development, and innovation, and create a premise to deepen bilateral relations between Vietnam and the three countries.
The 12th session of the 13th Party Central Committee, the ninth political consultation between the Vietnamese and Cambodian foreign ministries, and the 2025 Vietnam-Laos Trade Fair are among news highlights on July 18.
Trade between Laos and Vietnam reached 2.25 billion USD in 2024, up 38.2% from the previous year. In particular, total trade turnover in the first five months of 2025 hit 1.6 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 100.4%.
In his opening speech, the Party chief highlighted the significance of the event, saying that the convening of the conference nearly three months earlier than the schedule demonstrates the proactive, urgent, and highly responsible spirit of the entire Party in comprehensively and thoroughly preparing the contents to be presented at the 14th National Party Congress.
The National Committee for APEC 2027 is tasked with assisting the PM in considering, directing, and coordinating the performance of tasks related to the preparation for and organisation of APEC conferences and related activities in 2027.
The ninth Political Consultation between the foreign ministries of Vietnam and Cambodia was held in Hanoi on July 17.
In the first six months, Vietnamese ministries, sectors and localities signed more than 250 commitments and cooperation agreements during the diplomatic activities of high-ranking leaders, doubling the 2024 number.
This plenum will focus discussions on three major groups of issues - preparations for the 14th National Party Congress; the development of a political and legal foundation for continued reform in the coming years; and personnel work.
Set against the backdrop of major political and economic developments in both nations, this visit is poised to open up new cooperation opportunities, said Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Quoc Khanh.
The two sides agreed on priority areas for future cooperation, including increased delegation exchanges, information sharing, and trade promotion, with a view to raising two-way trade above the current 50 million USD. They also discussed collaboration in the Halal industry.
PM Pham Minh Chinh's reception for Global Head of Equity and Multi Asset of FTSE Russell Gerald Toledano, the third meeting of the Vietnam – Azerbaijan Intergovernmental Committee on Economic – Trade and Scientific – Technical Cooperation, and the Foreign Ministry's regular press conference are among news highlights on July 17 evening.
